"No worries, we still have time." Sienna Johnson cleaned the shallow wound on Kiki’s finger, applied a band-aid, and said, "Okay! All done." "Thank you." Kiki looked at her bandaged finger and smiled. Sienna stared at Kiki’s cute, blushing face and asked, "You have someone you like now?" Kiki shyly smiled and nodded her head slightly. "You’re very good at keeping secrets. I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t mentioned it today." Kiki thought Sienna had misunderstood her and hurriedly explained, "I didn’t mean to hide it from you, but nothing is settled yet... We haven’t known each other for that long, so we still need to spend more time together." Sienna glanced at Lucas Robertson, who stood nearby like a statue, and sighed with regret. Love, once missed, was gone forever. If anyone was to blame, it was Lucas for realizing too late. Sienna’s heart still leaned towards Kiki. Now that Kiki had feelings for someone else, even if it wasn’t Lucas, Sienna still wished her happiness. Kiki was a good woman, and she deserved a man who would treat her sincerely. "Bring him over sometime, and we can all have dinner together," Sienna said. Kiki laughed shyly and nodded. Seeing this, Lucas felt his heart ache even more. For so many years, he had never responded to Kiki’s feelings, and Kiki hadn’t dated other men. This had given him the illusion that even without romance between them, Kiki would never leave him. He had forgotten that Kiki was also a woman, a beautiful one at that, and would eventually get married. The breakfast was chicken noodle soup. The broth, made from an old hen, had been simmered for a long time with red dates and wolfberries. Sienna took a sip. The soup was rich and flavorful. She wondered how long it must have taken to make the broth so delicious. "Mom, this soup is so good." "If you like it, I’ll make it for you every day," Rose Collins said happily, seeing her daughter enjoying her meal. Sienna had always loved soups, all kinds. When her husband was healthy, their life was comfortable, and Rose often made soup for the family. Back then, Rose had kept Sienna well-nourished and radiant. But when her husband fell ill, their finances dwindled, and Sienna no longer had soup every day. Later, when Sienna’s biological father found them, Rose lost the chance to make soup for her daughter altogether. "Mom, you’re not in good health. How can you get up so early every day to make soup for me?" "As people get older, they need less sleep. Even if I weren’t making soup for you, I’d be awake by five in the morning anyway." Kiki chimed in, "Auntie Rose, you should teach me! I can make soup for everyone." Rose teased, "You have a boyfriend now, and you’ll get married sooner or later. If I teach you all my culinary secrets, won’t that just benefit some other man in the end?" "Like I said, nothing’s confirmed yet. Who knows what the future holds..." Kiki had never imagined leaving Sienna and the others if she got married, especially Curly. She had practically raised Curly; he had spent more time with her than with Sienna. She couldn’t bear to be apart from them. Lucas keenly observed Kiki’s hesitation and inner struggle. Right, Kiki couldn’t leave Sienna, and she couldn’t leave Curly... That means I still have a chance. Lucas’s earlier dejection vanished, and he began to devour the delicious noodles. When he was on his own, he’d often gone hungry, his meals irregular. Since being with Sienna and the others, at least his stomach had been well taken care of. Before going to the company, Sienna first went to Adrian Desmond’s place. Her daughter was still there; she wondered if she had slept well last night. Also, she needed to ask Adrian for another copy of the evidence about her sister, Sabrina Johnson, stealing the formula. The last time she asked for evidence, Adrian had almost kissed her breathless. She wondered what new ’challenge’ he would pose this time. Sienna pressed her forehead, glanced at the bright sun, then steeled herself and walked in. Adrian and Curly were eating. Adrian was clumsily feeding Curly spoonfuls of meat porridge; Curly was certainly not an easy child to wait on. "Dad, are you silly? Look, you’ve spilled it all over me!" Curly protested. "Dad, you’re so clumsy!" Adrian thought he must be a masochist; being chided by his daughter actually made him happy. He just loved hearing her call him ’Dad’ in her sweet, clear voice. "Curly, eat by yourself!" Sienna suddenly spoke up. When Curly saw her mother, she ran over, hugged her leg, and said sweetly, "Mom, you’re okay now, right? I was worried sick about you!" "Mom, please take better care of yourself. I was so worried last night I didn’t sleep well, and breakfast didn’t even taste good this morning." "I saw you eating quite heartily just now. Your cheeks are rosy; it looks like you slept very well last night." Sienna picked up her daughter and walked to the dining table. She glanced at the food on the table: meat porridge, Shrimp Dumplings, ham and eggs, and whole-wheat bread. "Have you had breakfast?" Adrian asked, his gaze fell on her hands, both wrapped in gauze. A hint of red touched his eyes. "Yes, Mom made chicken noodle soup." "Mom, I want chicken noodle soup too." "Okay, I’ll ask Grandma to make some for you tomorrow." The only person Sienna called ’Mom’ was Rose Collins. After dealing with Kenneth Brown, Adrian resolved to meet Rose Collins as well. Out of love for Sienna, he was willing to try and appreciate the people and things she cherished. "I want to eat chicken noodles too," Adrian chimed in. Sienna was in a good mood today and smiled, "Alright, I’ll make it for you when I have time." Adrian’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected such a delightful bonus from a casual comment. "Really." This text is hosted at NoveI-Fire.ɴet Setting aside their past grievances, he had helped her a great deal, and Sienna wasn’t one to forget a kindness. Curly peeked out from her mother’s embrace and whispered, "Dad, Mom is lying to you. She’s so busy; she doesn’t have time to make chicken noodles for you." Adrian looked at Sienna and asked, "Is that so?" "Mom promised to go to the parent-teacher conference, but she had a meeting. Mom promised to take me to the amusement park, but she had a business trip. Mom also promised to go shopping with me, but she had to work overtime..." As Curly recounted all the times Sienna had broken her promises, Sienna felt a wave of embarrassment, while Adrian, listening nearby, couldn’t stop laughing. "I said I’ll make chicken noodle soup for you both, and I will!" Sienna declared. "Mom, that sounds awfully familiar. You say that every time, but you never actually do it," Curly teased.